Each year, over 20,000 young people transition out of foster care without the familial and other supports on which many of their peers rely during early adulthood. As a result, they are at elevated risk of housing instability, lower rates of college completion, and poorer employment and earnings outcomes. Additionally, many of these young people experienced significant childhood adversities, including abuse, neglect, separation from family, and placement instability. This may contribute to poor mental health and make it harder to build reliable support networks during key transitions, including the loss of eligibility for child welfare services. Recent federal action, including the Fostering the Future for American Children and Families Executive Order, has renewed attention to these challenges; however, states continue to play a central role in ensuring that young people aging out of foster care have the resources and supports they need to transition successfully to adulthood.

Key Challenges as Youth Transition from Foster Care to Young Adulthood

• Housing instability makes it difficult for young people to complete their education, maintain employment, engage in healthy behaviors.
  • Between one quarter and one third of youth aging out of foster care experience homelessness during the transition to adulthood.
• Young people aging out of foster care who pursue postsecondary education may be at heightened risk for homelessness during college breaks.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
• Gaps in education and employment increase risk of poor outcomes.
• • Research indicates that 69%–85% of students who experience foster care complete a high school diploma or GED, compared to 95% of young peo­ple overall. One reason for the difference is students’ instability in home and educational placement, which disrupts learning continuity and school engagement.
  • Only 40% of former foster youth were employed at age 19, compared with 58% of 19-year-olds nationally, and employment gaps persist into young adulthood.
  • Only 8% to 12% of young people who age out of foster care earn a college degree compared to the nearly 50% of the general population. This is due to both financial and non-financial barriers to postsecondary educational attainment. furthering young adulthood disparities in professional advancement.
  • These gaps matter: young people who reach age 21 without a high school diploma or GED, employment, or school enrollment are more likely to experience homelessness.

• Lack of identifying documents delays independence.
  • Transitioning to young adulthood requires clear pathways to obtaining identification and personal records (see this guide from the Juvenile Law Center).
  • Young people often age out of foster care without a birth certificate, Social Security card, or state ID.Without these documents, their access to housing, employment, healthcare and public benefits is limited.

Policy Alternatives to Aid Young People Aging Out of Foster Care During the Transition to Adulthood

• Expand eligibility for extended foster care and the availability of supports for transition age youth.
  • Allow re-entry into foster care when appropriate
  • Use Chafee funding to pay for transitional housing, emergency housing assistance, and independent living services.
  • Recent state policy examples:
    • Minnesota H.F. 4206 (introduced in 2026): Establishes an extended foster care services grant program, appropriates funds for financial support and case management services to former foster youth aged 21 to under 27 who meet certain requirements, and requires reports of program outcomes, costs, and equity.
    • New York S.B. 10121 (introduced in 2025) Establishes a priority program that reserves a proportion of units in applicable housing lotteries for eligible youth who were formerly in foster care.
    • West Virginia H.B.4726 (introduced in 2026) Requires the Department of Health and Human Resources to prioritize government-assisted housing applications for youth who are transitioning out of foster care but do not qualify for transitional living programs.

• Increase access to and completion of postsecondary education.
• Increase use of Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs), which have been shown to increase graduate rates for those who receive them
  • Identify housing options for ETV recipients in career technical education and apprenticeship programs that don’t include housing.
  • Expand the definition of cost of attendance (COA) for students, so ETVs are not left on the table, but rather used toward.
• Encourage state college systems to offer tuition vouchers or waivers to young people who are or were in foster care (see example from Maryland).
• Address non-tuition barriers to postsecondary education such as the cost of housing, transportation, and childcare.
• Develop and fund programs for students with foster care histories attending public colleges to provide support and resources that may bolster their academic and career progress (see example from Pennsylvania).
• Recent state policy examples:
  • Washington S.B. 5963 (enacted in 2026) Expands funding and automatic financial aid eligibility for the Passport to Careers program, which facilitates access to postsecondary education for youth with foster care histories or experiencing homelessness.
  • West Virginia H.B. 3383 (introduced in 2025) Proposes the creation of the Great Expectations Pilot Program, which would provide specialized coaching and support services for foster youth transitioning from foster care to college, within the state’s community and technical college system.

• Ensure access to vital documents before exit from care.
  • Provide youth in foster care and their caregivers with early, ongoing guidance on obtaining and safeguarding vital documents, including state IDs, birth certificates, and Social Security cards.
  • Establish and communicate clear timelines, agency responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms to ensure documents are obtained before transition.
  • Develop mechanisms to cover or waive fees and administrative costs that delay access to vital
  • Recent state policy examples:
    • Montana S.B. 412 (Enacted in 2025) Establishes a comprehensive fee waiver program for former foster youth (under 21) to obtain certified copies of birth certificates, replacement birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and identification cards. Eligible youth can access these documents with a simple oral attestation of their foster status, reducing barriers to adulthood.
    • Colorado H.B.24-1017 (Enacted in 2024) Establishes a “Bill of Rights for Foster Youth” that ensures youth in foster care have access to vital documents (including birth certificates and Social Security cards) upon leaving care.

• Use data to improve outcomes
  • Increase the use of transition readiness assessments such as the Casey Life Skills Toolkit for youth in foster care and their caregivers to identify unmet needs related to housing, employment, education, healthcare, and financial stability prior to discharge
  • Use the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) to track housing, education, and employment outcomes, but strengthen it with NYTD Plus and linked state administrative data to enhance actionable information.
  • Enhance the monitoring of how Chafee and ETV funds are used and the outcomes of young people who receive Chafee-funded services and ETVs to identify program successes and areas for improvement